With Ontario entering Step 2 of the Roadmap To Reopen process, there are already questions about when Step 3 will be enacted.

Provincial officials first unveiled the roadmap to reopening May 20, indicating each step would last a minimum of 21 days.

Premier Doug Ford implied Monday he would like to see a similarly expedited schedule for the next step, however the province’s new Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore suggested Tuesday that he has no immediate plans to give the green light for Step 3.

Medical Officer of Health for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, Dr. Janet DeMille agrees with the cautious approach from Dr. Moore.

“The risk is, as we re-open, that there is more opportunity for the virus to spread,” said Dr. DeMille. “What we see in different health units, including here in the north, is that Delta variant which is actually more infectious than the regular strain.”

DeMille noted the variant tends to spread more quickly among those who are not vaccinated or who have only had one dose.

Heading into Thursday, there are just six active cases of COVID-19 in the district.

The latest vaccination numbers show that 66.6% of the population 12 and older have had at least one dose of vaccine, while 30.4% are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We are anticipating that there will be some more guidance coming out about removal of some of the restrictions for individuals who are fully vaccinated,” DeMille stated. “Many restrictions are decided by the province and often through the office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. I can use some ways of putting on more restrictions but I can’t actually loosen the restrictions that might be in legislation.”

The legislation comes under the Reopening of Ontario Act.